Pinky Swear
by mum-to-you
Summary: An unusual Molly and Arthur story from a way, way pre-HP time in their lives. Some of you wanted the "original" Bat-Bogey story, so here it is!


"It's all boys, of course," thought Molly with a sigh. She supposed that was to be expected, what with it's being Arthur's birthday and all. The same group would be invited for her birthday, later in the summer. She just hoped that Lizzie Fawcett and Margaret Lovegood would be back from their holidays before then. She and Arthur had looked forward to turning eleven ever since she could remember. Turning eleven meant they would be starting at Hogwarts in the fall, and in the wizarding world, that was a very big deal.

Molly's older brother, Fabian, hadn't wanted to come to the party at all. He'd said he was too old for such silliness, but Mum and Dad had insisted. So she and Fabian and Gideon, who was just a year older than she, had come with their parents to The Burrow for the day. The Diggory family had joined them as well. With the Fawcetts and the Lovegoods out of the country on holiday, it meant that Molly Prewett was the only girl invited, and she'd have to spend the whole day playing with Gideon, Amos, and his brother Cedric, as well as Arthur and his younger twin brothers, Percival and Lancelot. All boys. Molly sighed again for good measure.

These were the wizard families that lived near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, and since all the parents had gone to school together, it wasn't unusual for them to get together for special occasions such as this one. Molly wouldn't have minded at all if it had been just her and Arthur instead. Being the same age, they had been best friends since forever. Sometimes, though, Arthur could get very stupid when he was around the other boys, and Molly would feel left out.

Just then, she heard the thudding of running footsteps, and as she turned, the birthday boy ran up, grabbed her hand, and yelled, "Come on, Molly, I have to show you something. You know where!" They ran off at breakneck speed to their secret hideout. Well, it wasn't really a secret, but they called it that anyway. Arthur beat Molly into the garden and pulled aside a loose piece of wood near the steps that allowed them to crawl under the back porch. When they were both inside, he replaced the wood so no one would suspect where they were. He hoped. Then he turned a freckled face to her and said intently, "Pinky swear you won't tell."

Molly held up her hand with the little finger extended. Arthur hooked his finger around hers, and they shook. He was trembling with excitement as he crawled over to the back of their hideout. With a flourish, he yanked an old towel off his surprise. He looked at her with deadly seriousness and announced, "I bought the writetyper."

Molly's eyes grew big and round. "You didn't! The one at that second-hand Muggle shop in town? Arthur, you are going to be in _so much trouble_!"

He grinned at her. "I've been collecting Muggle money for years, you know, and I finally got enough to pay for it. Look at all the buttons it's got!" His eyes lit up with sheer joy.

Molly peered through the dim light at the odd machine. "It's got letters on it. What does it do?"

"See the piece of parchment I put in it? Watch this." Arthur reached over and depressed the button with the letter M on it, and a little stick thing came up and hit the parchment. An M suddenly appeared where she could see it. He scanned the buttons for the O key, and then pushed it as well. With painstaking effort, he typed out Molly's name. "See? Isn't that amazing?"

Molly was rather impressed, but still a bit skeptical. "Amazing. But what's the point of it?"

"You could write things without using a quill, Molly!" he pointed out, incredulous.

Molly frowned, "But a quill is faster, Arthur. Look here, all the letters are scrambled up so you can't find them."

Arthur sighed. "I know. I haven't really figured out how to work it yet," he admitted.

After throwing him a sharp look, Molly reached over and tried to pull the thing closer to her. It wouldn't budge. "Ugh! Arthur, this thing weighs a ton! However did you get it home?"

He glanced in her direction for a moment, and then looked away, before confessing, "I nicked Dad's wand and did a weightlessness charm on it." Arthur's ears turned bright red.

Molly was aghast. "You didn't really! Arthur, your mum will go spare when she finds out!"

He grinned at her sheepishly and wiggled his eyebrows. "I really did. And I have plans for it. Someday, I'm going to charm it so it will type whatever you tell it. That'll be right useful, that will."

Molly gave him a dubious look. "I'll stick with a quill, thanks. You'd best keep it covered, that's for sure." She picked up the towel and covered the mysterious gadget with it. Then she plopped down on her stomach with her chin propped on her hands and looked up at him.

"So, are you ready for school?" she asked him.

Arthur blinked. He looked at her for a long time before nodding. "Absolutely. I can't wait. It's going to be loads of fun. It can't happen soon enough. Yep, definitely ready." After another long pause, he added, "How about you?"

She nodded, but then began worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. "I think I'm a little scared."

Arthur laughed shrilly at her. "Scared? What is there to be scared of?"

"Don't laugh at me, you git! You don't have any older brothers who tell you things, do you, so what do you know anyway? Gideon says that you have to pass some sort of test, like wrestling a troll or something, and how well you do decides what house you're in."

Arthur blinked again, and a moment of doubt played briefly across his face. Then he shook his head and said, "I'm not worried. It'll be a piece of piss."

"Arthur!" Molly was shocked.

He grinned back at her. "Alright, cake then."

Molly rolled over on her back and looked up at him. "You look ridiculous upside-down," she giggled. She reached into her pocket and handed him a something wrapped in a piece of kitchen roll. "Ginger biscuits. I know they're your favorite. Made them myself, too."

"Really? Thanks!" He unwrapped the biscuits and put them on the ground between them. He took one, bit into it, and said with his mouth still full, "Wizard! I didn't know you could cook."

Molly rolled her eyes at him. Then she thought of something perfectly dreadful and jumped up to a sitting position and grabbed his hands. In a panicked voice, she asked, "Arthur, what we aren't in the same house?"

That made him pause. "Hmm. Well, no way we'll be in Slytherin, so that's out. And I'm not totally gormless, but I'm not brainy enough to be in Ravenclaw. That leaves Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Merlin, if we're in Hufflepuff, we'll be disgraced, won't we?" He slumped over against the underside of the steps. "Thing is, I'm not particularly brave."

Molly snorted. "You just got finished telling me all about saving up your Muggle money, walking into a Muggle shop, bold as you please, and buying that . . . that thing . . . nicking your dad's wand, and performing magic with it right in the middle of a Muggle village. I'd say that's plenty brave."

"Well, you're brave, too, Molly. There's nothing you wouldn't stick at," he pointed out, as if defending her honor. "But still, I suppose I could live with Hufflepuff as long we're together. Say, do you suppose we could work out going to London together to get our school things?"

Molly shook her head. "No good. I've already been. Mum and I did that last week. Got my wand and everything."

"Rats," replied Arthur, "Mum won't take me until right before school. She says I'm growing too fast, and she doesn't want to have to replace my school robes before I ever wear them."

"Stand up," ordered Molly. Arthur stood up, and Molly looked straight ahead at him and nodded. "You have grown a lot. I used to come up to your chin, and now I'm not even up to your shoulder."

"That's not all, either." Arthur looked disgusted.

Molly looked at him questioningly. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Promise you won't laugh. Pinky swear."

"All right," she said and extended her hand.

After shaking, Arthur reached a hand into his pocket, pulled out a pair of glasses, and put them on. "I look stupid," he stated matter-of-factly.

Molly just smiled at him. "No, you don't. They make you look very brainy. You might make Ravenclaw yet." Arthur started to protest, but she cut him off. "I mean it, Arthur. If anything made you look stupid, it was all that ruddy squinting." He still looked disgruntled, but he didn't take them off, either.

Just then, the children heard someone's mum calling for them to come inside. They sneaked furtively out of their hideout and went inside for the party. There were the usual gifts, cake, and crackers, and then Gideon suggested that they go outside to play Quidditch. After a scurry for brooms and equipment, someone finally realized that there were eight children. They agreed that Lance, who was the slightest built, would be Seeker, and that Fabian, Arthur, and Percival were the best Chasers. Cedric wanted to play Keeper, and Gideon volunteered to play Beater since he played that position on the Gryffindor Quidditch team anyway. That left one position open for a Beater.

Arthur looked apprehensively between Amos and Molly. There was no doubt in his mind who was the better Beater by far, but he looked at Molly and whispered, "I think they want it to be just the boys. You understand, don't you?"

Molly just looked at him, disbelieving. After a moment, she shrugged and said, "Fine. Whatever."

"You're a good sport, Molly," he declared, and he ran off with the other boys up the hill to the paddock. A very dejected Molly was left behind.

She managed to keep herself busy, helping Mrs. Weasley tidy up the kitchen. She loved the kitchen at The Burrow. It was rather small, but it was always warm and homey and smelled of vanilla. She had always liked Arthur's mother, who only rarely seemed ruffled or out of sorts with the antics of her three boys. Molly had long ago vowed that she was never having any children because that was just too disgusting, but after talking with Mrs. Weasley, she thought that if she did ever change her mind, she hoped she wouldn't have any boys. What a bother they must be!

They had just shaken out the tea towels on the back porch, when Mrs. Weasley looked around suspiciously, "It's too quiet out here. Molly, go see what the boys are up to, would you?" Molly reluctantly started to walk out to the paddock to see what was going on.

The paddock at the top of the hill was deserted. Not a boy was in sight. With an exasperated sigh, Molly trudged back down in the direction of the pond. Maybe that's where they were. As she approached the pond, she heard a furtive rustling in the woods that unnerved her. She knew The Burrow had a ghoul up in the attic, but she hadn't a clue what might be lurking here. Skittish now, she slowed down and listened carefully. Everything was eerily quiet.

However, just as she got down to the edge of the pond, there was suddenly a great clamor of shrieking and wailing that scared Molly to death. She screamed at the top of her lungs and could feel her heart pounding. Then she heard her brother's voice saying, "_Rictusempra_." Molly hated to be tickled, and the curse hit her square on. She lost her balance and landed with a splash in the muddy pond.

Gales of laughter filled the air as the boys came out of hiding to see the result of their prank. Molly, for her part, very calmly stood up, dripping wet, with her fists on her hips. "So," she whispered, with a definite edge to her voice. "You think just because I'm a girl, this sort of thing is acceptable, do you?"

The boys had expected her to throw a tantrum, which would have been highly amusing, but they hadn't bargained for this. They grew quiet. Molly looked at Gideon, who had the good grace to look a little self-conscious. "_Rictusempra_, eh?" she asked in a hushed voice. "I'll be sure to remember that one, Gideon." Gideon looked down at his shoes. She looked around at the group with disdain, and then she turned to a very stunned Arthur. It seemed she had saved her full hurt and fury for him alone.

She gave him a wounded and betrayed look that made him look as if he were about to cry, then she came down on him like a ton of bricks. "You!" she shrieked. "You git! You prat! Frightened me to death! Might've killed me! Of all the stupid--" She paused to get a second wind before continuing. "Arthur Weasley, I hate you! I'm never speaking to you again, and you're not going to be my friend anymore!" She reached into her jacket pocket and, with a quick movement, whipped out her new wand and pointed it straight at Arthur. He barely had time to gape at her when she shouted, "_Chiroptera Mucosa!_" The Bat-Bogey Hex hit him with considerable force square in the glasses, and he shrieked like banshee. Without a backwards glance, she strode back up to the house, leaving seven very ashamed boys, one of them exceedingly remorseful indeed, in her wake.

Once she was out of sight of her tormenters, Molly burst into tears and ran into the back garden to hide under the porch. She flung herself into the secret hideout, curled up against the side of the steps in the dark, and cried herself to exhaustion. Before long, though, a very contrite and very wet, but un-bogeyed, Arthur poked his head under the steps. "Molly, I'm sorry, all right?"

She didn't answer. Arthur crawled under the porch and pulled on her sleeve. "Molly, please talk to me. I'm really sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

Still not answering, Molly pulled her arm away from him and stood up. She crossed her arms in front of her and turned her back on him. "Molly!" he begged, "please don't be angry with me anymore. I'm sorry. Really, really, cross-my-heart sorry." His voice cracked a little, and Molly could tell he was trying not to cry. In a hoarse whimper he continued, "Don't make me go to Hogwarts without any friends, Molly. Everyone will already think I'm mental, and I'll probably be in stupid Hufflepuff, and it'll be a total disaster, so please say you'll still be my friend because I can't face it all by myself because . . . because I'm scared."

Slowly, Molly turned towards him and pulled out her wand. "_Lumos_," she said quietly. She watched Arthur as he scrubbed his eyes on his shirtsleeve, knocking his glasses askew. "You said you weren't scared about going to school."

Arthur looked at her, embarrassed, then looked down at his soggy shoes. "I was just trying to be brave. So I could get into Gryffindor." He looked back up to face her scrutiny. "I'm really terrified."

Molly nodded and said, "Me, too." When Arthur attempted a tentative smile, she added sternly, "Do you promise never to do that to me again, no matter what the other boys are doing?" He nodded sincerely. "All right, then," she conceded, "we can be friends."

Arthur smiled back at her and said, "Nothing can frighten us too much as long as we stick together, right?" Molly shook her head and whispered, "Not if we stick together."

"Can we still be _best_ friends?" he ventured. Molly's mouth twitched a little at the corners before she broke into a real smile.

"Best friends," she agreed. She pushed his glasses back up on his nose and held out her hand with her little finger extended. "Pinky swear?"

Arthur smiled and nodded. "Best friends. I swear it." They locked pinkies and shook on it. And they really, really, cross-their-hearts meant it.


End file.
